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The Hidden Costs of Charcoal
A United Nations adviser for the development of emissions trading world-wide says the NSW government did not account for greenhouse emission costs, when it assessed the development application for the charcoal plant at Mogo.
Robert Vincin is Managing Director of Emissions Traders International and a leading expert on greenhouse gases and their cost to industry.
Mr Vincin explained to 70 people at Broulee, on Saturday that over $1 billion dollars is not accounted for in the assessment of economic sustainability.
He spoke out, despite the fact he claimed had been warned by Peter Anderton, CEO of Australian Silicon P/L, that he had ‘better look out’ if he went ahead with his address.
The company will be liable to pay a huge bill for greenhouse emissions incurred by the 3 pronged silicon plant in Lithgow, under the new ‘greenhouse law’ initiated by NSW Premier Carr. The total may be as high as $1.6 billion dollars within 20 years, taking into account carbon loss from stack, energy and vehicle emissions, removal of timber and replanting of forests.
“It’s economic vandalism, economic irresponsibility. It will have to come out of the national economy,” Mr Vincin said.
Apparently China, which is now part of the World Trade Organization, manufactures quality silicon, using coal as a reductant. It would be far cheaper for us to import it than produce it,” he said. “The type of silicon that Australian Silicon would produce is not the type used for computer chips. That would require a further process for the Lithgow product.”
Mr Vincin says fighting the development is as simple as E=MC2. E = Environment, M = Money and C = Carbon which when you ‘square’ it becomes E = Environment, M = MPs and C = (voting) Community.
A bare minimum of 2000 jobs in Eurobodalla Shire, our coffers full to overflowing and in just a dozen years – wealth for the Nature Coast and Australia.
Reality or a dream?
Robert Vincin, world-renowned expert on emissions trading and member of the United Nations trade and development forum convinced an audience of 70 people that it was in fact truth.
Mr Vincin was the guest speaker at a Coastwatchers meeting on Saturday. He explained the vast topic of Environmental Economics in simple terms. “The world is a bank – a bank of resources. Man has from time in memorial withdrawn from that bank – never depositing, not even rolling-over those resources.
“Now the management of the bank – Nature – is calling for the account to be addressed and failure to do so will see the receivers brought in.” The Premier of NSW, Bob Carr is one of the first Australian politicians to realize that if the world ignores greenhouse emissions, it will stand a good chance of entering into another Ice Age. The suns rays will not be able to penetrate through the heavy layer of CO2 emissions.
On May 8, he took the first steps to stave off the receivers. Premier Carr introduced ‘Greenhouse Law’. Power retailers will be forced to cut greenhouse emissions per customer to five percent below 1990 levels by the year 2007.
It is expected that the federal government will follow suit by signing the Kyoto Protocol – a document pledging a country to reduce the ozone layer.
One of the ways companies can counteract their emissions is to buy carbon credits then trade the amount of carbon in the credit for the same amount of carbon in their emissions, thus achieving a neutral effect.
The carbon credits are worth at present $55.05 per tonne, which equates to $15 per tonne of the gas CO2 (carbon dioxide).
Eurobodalla Shire is in a unique position to benefit from carbon credit trading. It can become a ‘carbon sink’ (an area with build-up of carbon in the soil). The Nature Coast has the climate and the rainfall, necessary to promote growth of carbon producing plants and the forests to produce litter to build up carbon.
There are at least 35 different areas of work associated with plant growth and regeneration. Mr Vincin believes that carbon trading could generate hundreds of jobs in the next ten years. The Nature Coast has the means to become a carbon credit bank.
We can sell the carbon contained in the soil to world industries, which need them to counteract their CO2 emissions.
Eurobodalla Shire Mayor, Peter Cairney had a private meeting with Mr Vincin and is convinced that this shire can lead the way in the 21st century.
He will seek further information from Robert Vincin regarding setting up a carbon credit bank – making the Nature Coast, the prime carbon sink in NSW and investigate te proposition with other environmental experts.
According to Mr Vincin, global carbon trading is set to become a trillion dollar business within 10 to 20 years. Mayor Cairney wants this shire to be an integral part.
“This is a perfect way to preserve and improve the environment with a flow-on effect for tourism, residents and job-seekers and at the same time work out a way to make a profit,” said Mayor Cairney. “I hope to meet with politicians from all parties while I am in Sydney this week and return armed with ways we can make this dream a reality.”
